Something Blue for Springtime Wedding Flowers

Looking for blue flowers for your springtime wedding? Check out these sweet lovelies- Spanish Bluebells (hyacinthoides) and Grape Hyacinths (muscari). Both are fall planted bulbs (or corms) that bloom in the South from mid March through mid April.

 They pair wonderfully with other spring bloomers such as leucojum and ranunculus, and look great in bouquets and centerpiece designs. Spanish Bluebells and Grape Hyacinths also come in whites and pinks, but shades of blue are the most common color. The Grape Hyacinths also have a pleasing delicate fragrance.

An added bonus is that you can purchase your own bulbs in the fall after your wedding, and grow these as a yearly reminder of  your special day. Once they are planted they will continue to come back each spring and multiply year after year....

Gomphrena for Summer Weddings

The seed catalogs are coming, and garden plans for summer flower beds at Springwell Gardens are under way. One flower that  always finds a niche in the gardens is gomphrena.

  I usually grow the Audray Pink and Audray Red Purple, and sometimes the Bicolor Rose. 

 Their clover-like blooms are such charmers in bouquets and centerpiece designs.

The flowers start up in early summer and when things heat up in July, the plants really begin to crank out the blooms.

  And they don't stop until frost!

The designs in the pictures above also feature zinnias, dahlias and lisianthus.
A good source for seeds for the Audray series is Harris Seeds and the Bicolor Rose can be found online at Johnny's Select Seeds. Note: these flowers are GREAT for drying for Christmas and winter designs too!

Garden Gatherings for Christmas Wreaths

Christmas wreaths are a favorite of mine. Each year I enjoy making several for family and friends. I used to wire all the greenery myself, but it has been such a time saver to purchase a fresh green Noble fir base and embellish with nature and garden gatherings and even a little produce from the store.

If a plant is going into one of our garden beds or border, it has to do more than look nice- it has to offer something that can be used. Over the years we have added a variety evergreen shrubs that are wonderful for cutting Christmas greenery from. They include:

Chamaecyparis pisifer "Golden Mops"

Chamaecyparis obtusa "Crippsii"

and Osmanthus heterophyllus "Goshiki"

Good sources for berries include nandina and holly bushes. And then there are the great finds along paths, sidewalks and among trees such as...

brown pods from wisteria vines, wooden-like pods from trumpet vines, peeling bark from Crepe Myrtles, 

sweet gum balls, dried flowers such as golden yarrow (from the garden) and Lady apples from the store

Add a bow... or not

 And enjoy!!!

Most of this material can be inserted into the wreath using a hot glue gun. Some, such as the apples, must first be mounted on a stake, then attached with hot glue. Multiple stems of gum balls are wrapped together with wire so that the unit can be glued in as one piece.
Questions- just email me!

Amnesia Roses for Melissa and Matt's Late Autumn Wedding

 The soft dusky lavender shade of Amnesia Roses pairs beautifully with the creamy pink beige of Sahara Roses. Together they conjure up a wonderful romantic, vintage feel. 

This color palette worked well for Melissa and Matt's wedding last weekend.

The dreamy colors are a lovely transition from autumn golds and oranges.

And roses look wonderful in all seasons!

Praying God's blessing for you two as you begin your married lives together!

Hooping It Up at Springwell Gardens

So excited to get the raised beds planted for late winter-early spring blooms. Started putting in ranunculus (see picture above) and anemone corms a couple of weeks ago.

 If  you look very closely you can see the baby plants starting to emerge!

Wilson gave up his Saturday to help me get the plastic covering in place. It's exciting to convert these raised beds into mini hoop houses. It means I will be able to grow cool season flowers that need a little protection from the low temperatures, and hopefully by late February or early March there will be ranunculus and anemones ready to pick!

There's also a batch of new seedlings taking off in the studio under grow lights. Poppies, foxlgove, snapdragons and delphinium will also be moved into these beds once they are a little larger.

Getting Ready- Garden Flowers for Spring Weddings

Seems like we are skipping through November! It is hard to believe that next week will be Thanksgiving- now how did that happen so quickly?

I am trying to keep up with the garden chores, because this is the time of year to prepare beds and start planting for spring time flowers.

I just received my last shipment of spring time bulbs, and hope to start getting them in the ground soon. Springwell Gardens is a suburban garden, so I have to make EVERY inch count.
Spanish Bluebells (hyacinthoides) will be going into the front beds
Pink Angelique tulips are slated for the back garden beds as well as ranunculus and anemones. I hope to find a few more places for daffodils as well.
And a few months from now the blooms will start! There should be a nice succession of spring time flowers for my March, April and May weddings.

Summer Wedding Flowers- Check Out Feverfew, Part 2

 

Last week's post was about a great garden flower for summer weddings- feverfew! There are several forms of this late spring/ early summer blooming flower. The single flower form (last week's post) looks like camomile. This week will focus on the double flower form.These are frilly blooms are about the size of your tip of your index finger with soft yellow centers.

Feverfew is a short lived perennial. I usually grow the double flower version from stem cuttings that are rooted in late summer.  Last year I had great success with the cuttings that I rooted from a lone plant, so in the spring there were drifts of feverfew in bloom. I cut back about one third of the plants before they ever bloomed and was able to extend the blooming period for a couple of weeks.

The double-flower form looks more refined and is beautiful in wedding bouquets and centerpiece work.

Its bloom season is from mid May through late June. Other garden flowers blooming at Springwell at that time include Queen Ann's Lace, calla lilies, Snow on the Mountain,  zinnias, summer phlox, dianthus and yarrow.

The stem cuttings from this past summer are well rooted and I am looking forward to having plenty of flowers for weddings next May and June!

Summer Wedding Flowers- Check Out Feverfew, Part 1

As the garden beds wind down for the season, I thought I would take a look back and write a little about some of my favorite garden picks that LOVE to play the supporting role in bouquets and centerpiece designs. And one of the best for summer weddings is Feverfew.

 There are two forms that I grow- the double flowers as in the picture above, and the single daisy-like flowers as in the picture below.

 The post is going to focus on the single flower form.
Once you have this plant in your garden, it's pretty easy to keep it. I have found feverfew to be a short lived perennial, but it reseeds so easily that I usually have plenty in the garden. The plants stay low throughout the winter and then start to shoot up in March and April. The bloom time is from mid April through late May or early June. Leave some of the flower heads on the plant until they have died to ensure they reseed. Afterwards I suggest cutting the plants back to keep the clumps neat.
Check out a few bouquets that feature this Oh-so-sweet-flower!

Katie's yellow bouquet from last June was also designed with yellow Babe spray roses, brown-eyed Viking mums, sunflowers, Queen Anne's Lace and English ivy.

Coral and white zinnias, white calla lilies, blue Chinese delphinium  look great with clusters of feverfew...

And so does this bouquet of Snow on the Mountain Euphorbia, yarrow and white roses.

Two good sources for seeds are Select Seeds and Johnny's Selected Seeds

Beautiful Corals for Katie and Will's Wedding- The Real Pictures

It's so exciting to share the REAL PICTURES from the weddings of couples that I have worked with.

I am continually amazed at the talent that goes into capturing the images of such a monumental day. Katie and Will's September 1st wedding was just incredible, and their photographer, Perry, of Perry Vaile Photography did an outstanding job of capturing the joyful emotions of their special day!!!
Take a look and I am sure you will agree...

Katie's choice of colors were corals, soft peaches, creams and ivories. The finishing touch for the bouquets were flowing ribbons of satin and organza.

Here are some priceless shots of Katie with her bridesmaids....

 

Of Will and all the men in the wedding party sporting bow ties....

And touching moments of father and daughter, and two sisters who really are best friends.

 Jones Chapel on the campus of Meredith College was such a classic venue for their wedding.

After the wedding the guests made their way to the University Club in Raleigh to continue the celebration. Perry really took time to capture so many of the personal details...

The little things that make this wedding unique to Will and Katie....

Click here to see more wonderful images of their special day.